


The Future

by edensreadingcorner



Category: The Grisha Trilogy - Leigh Bardugo
Genre: Alarkling - Freeform, Darklina - Freeform, F/M, I don't like Mal sorry, I haven't read King of Scars, Nikolina - Freeform, Post-Canon, Post-Ruin and Rising, Romance, slowburn, the Darkling actually loves Alina here
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:14:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26386993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/edensreadingcorner/pseuds/edensreadingcorner
Summary: After the war, Alina knew she should be happy, but there was a hole left inside her where her powers used to be. A decade later, Mal dies in an accident and Alina finds herself on a quest to find her powers and herself again.New chapter will be up soon :) I decided to reread the books before continuing
Relationships: Nikolai Lantsov/Alina Starkov, The Darkling | Aleksander Morozova/Alina Starkov
Kudos: 33





	1. Before

The first time she saw him after the war was over, she was watching over the children and the staff of the orphanage as they ate their lunch. She happened to look up and noticed him standing in the corner of the room. Both the staff and the children wondered why she froze, it appeared that she was staring at nothing. When she looked into his gray quartz eyes, she saw the lonely boy that Aleksander once was. She saw the Darkling that she had first met, the one who had kissed her by the lake, the way he had been before she ran away. Overwhelmed, she turned away for a second, but when she looked back, he was gone. She tried to fight the feeling of disappointment that stirred in her chest, but she couldn't deny that some part of her had missed him.

For the next few years, that was all he would do. He would appear in the back corners of rooms where only she could see him. He wouldn't stay there for very long, but from then on, she began searching rooms for a sign of him.

Over time, she also began to realize that while her husband had begun growing old, she appeared to stay the same age. She had supposedly lost all her powers, yet for some reason, it seemed that the immortality had remained. For months, she refused to accept it until one day, she reached a breaking point. One night, when she knew everyone was asleep, she ran out of the doors and into the trees nearby. She needed space and fresh air.

She sank to the floor, tears streaming down her face, trying not to sob and wake up all of Keramzim. For the first time, he approached her. She sank into his arms and cried as held her tight. He tentatively reached a hand up to wipe her tears away and as his hand brushed against her face, she felt the familiar sense of surety come across. 

"He-he's growing o-older, and I'm no-not," she cried. His arms tightened around her and he gently stroked her hair. He stayed there with her the entire time she cried, gently rocking her, though he never spoke a word. When her crying had ceased and she was ready to go back, he kissed her forehead before his lips curled upward the way they used to when she first began falling for him. He was gone shortly afterward.

As the years continued to pass by, he began visiting her more often. Now, he came every few weeks. He never said a word, he would watch her and remain near to her, though he still didn't speak. She believed him to be a figment of her imagination. After all, she had seen his corpse. She'd been the one to drive the knife into his chest. She'd seen his body burn. Yet, a part of her couldn't help but hope that he wasn't actually dead. 

Her husband was outside one day, playing with the children, teaching them to hunt. She could see them from the window, but her eyes were unfocused as her fingers played with the beams of sunlight that streamed in through the window. He came to sit beside her, his grey eyes melancholy, the corners of his lips lifted in a bittersweet smile. Their eyes met, he understood how she felt. He kissed her forehead, then her palms, then her fingertips. He may have loved her power, but it had been a part of her, and he had loved her. All of her. He wrapped her tightly in her arms before leaving. That began to happen more often. She felt that she wasn't whole without her powers, but something about his presence would put her at ease, even if he was just a figment of her imagination.

Occasionally she would put on the blue _kefta_ the Triumvirate had gifted her a few years ago. His sorrowful gray eyes met hers and he would reach out to hold her hands. He wrinkled his nose at the color, still preferring her in his color, but she still looked beautiful in it.

He wasn't the only one to visit her. Occasionally, the young king would stop by, though he disguised himself as the pirate so none of the staff or teachers would recognize him. They would go on walks and talk and laugh like they used to. He too wasn't growing any older, most likely lasting effects of the creature the Darkling had turned him into, and he told her his proposal was still viable. It hung there like an empty promise between them. Eventually, when they were alone again, they could be together and she could help him with the Second Army.

She didn't tell her husband of these talks with the king or the time spent with the Darkling. She knew he would not be able to understand and would likely get angry with her, so she kept it to herself. A part of her felt she was betraying him, but she knew it was for the best.

It was a decade after the end of the war, and her husband had just died in a hunting accident. She had come to believe she would have until he grew old, but now she was forced to bury him.

For the next year, she remained at Keramzim, but refused to see anyone other than the children. She had to communicate with the staff and teachers, but other than that, all visits were refused be they from the Triumvirate, the king, or others. When the Darkling came to check on her, she would ignore him. Still, he never stopped coming so that he could continue watching over her.


	2. Chapter 2

I stood by Mal’s grave; today was the anniversary of his death. Nikolai stood next to me, our shoulders touching as my tears fell, dripping onto the ground below my feet. We stood in silence for a while. This was the first time since Mal’s death that I had not pushed Nikolai away when he came near me. I rested my head on his shoulder and he wrapped an arm around me. I held out my hand, my fingers enclosed around the Lantsov emerald.

"I told you you could use it to restore this place," he said as he picked it up from my hand.

"I got it back."

"How?" he looked at me incredulously.

"I learned from Sturmhond and I heard of a boy named Kaz Brekker."

"You stole it." He stated, a sly smile crossed his lips.

I sighed and silence settled over us once more like a blanket. I looked up to see his face turned towards mine. He was close enough that I could feel his breath. He brushed his lips against mine like he had all those years ago. As he pulled away slightly, I remembered what he had told me back then. That he wouldn't kiss me until I had forgotten about Mal.

"You know, you could still become queen if you would like. I'm sure many people would enjoy having the Sun Summoner as their queen. Especially seeing her back from the dead."

"Sol Koroleva," I smiled dryly. "I'm not Grisha anymore and they watched my body burn. There's no use."

"David can take care of any power issues and the resurrection of Sankta Alina would definitely warm the nation."

"It's not that easy, Nikolai, and you know that. I'm not the same person I was back then. Besides, don't you have a fiancée?"

"You know the people would much prefer the Sun Queen." He handed the ring back to me, lifting up my hand, and sliding it on my finger the way he had when he was the Darkling's monster. "At least think about it, please?"

I looked into his hazel eyes and nodded. It was weird to talk to him without his usual evasiveness and charisma, but he knew it wasn't the time and I was grateful for that. He gave me a full hug then walked away.

Once he was gone, someone else came over. I felt him before I saw or heard him.

"I told you before that we're the only ones like us, Alina." The Darkling stared at Mal's tombstone.

"You've never spoken before," I stated. As much as I hated hearing it, I couldn't deny that I had missed his smooth voice.

"I knew better than to." The corner of his lips twisted upwards. "You want to know why you've been seeing me, Alina." I was suspicious, but I nodded. "I've been visiting you, just as I used to."

"You died, years ago. I watched your body burn."

"Did you think it would be that easy to kill me?" A wry smile on his lips. "Many others watched your body burn too. It was not hard to visit you as I used to, your walls were down."

"And right now?"

"I'm physically here." His eyes slid over me as he took a step closer. "I've missed you, Alina. Seeing your melancholy at the loss of your powers made me search for a way to make you feel whole again. I understand the feeling of emptiness."

"All you've ever cared about was you and my power. You didn't miss me, you missed my power. You never would have thought about me in any way, shape, or form if I wasn't the Sun Summoner."

"Being the Sun Summoner brought you to me, but it's not why I care for you. It was over time, talking with you on our journey, seeing you when I could at the Little Palace. It dawned on me that we were meant to balance each other out. You could make me a better man. We could unify Ravka, help the Grisha be seen as actual Ravkans and not just as Grisha. The first time I saw you in the black _kefta_ , I knew I couldn't be mistaken, and then you ran from me."

"And you just expect me to excuse all of the things you did afterward because you claim you cared about me? That's no excuse." There was no use talking to him, I turned and began walking back to Keramzim.

"I found a way to bring your power back, Alina." I stopped in my tracks, frozen.

"Again, it's back to my powers," I said turning to look at him, unbelieving. A dark look crossed his face but he schooled his features not even half a second later.

"It's your choice. If you want to get them back, you _will_ need my help. But if you don't want them back, you don't have to get them back."

"You're saying there really is a way for me to restore my magic."

"If you would like to know more, meet me at my mother's hut at ten bells tomorrow morning."

Before I knew it, he had walked away. I was shocked. I could be the Sun Summoner again. I couldn't deny how much I had missed the feeling of wielding my power. A small piece of me also missed the _merzost_ , but without Morozova's amplifiers, I had a feeling that _merzost_ wouldn't be possible and that was probably for the best.

When I made the decision to meet the Darkling at Baghra's old hut, I set out on my way, but my first stop would be the Grand Palace. If I was going to go through with this, I would need Nikolai there with me.

\----------------

Nikolai and I walked over to the hut and I hesitantly raised up my fist to knock on the door. I looked back at Nikolai, a little worried, and he reached over with one of his gloved hands to give my hand a squeeze. We heard a smooth "Come in." and I went in first, Nikolai following behind, before closing the door. It was weird to be in the hut without the sweltering heat Baghra used to keep it in.

A smile flickered on the Darkling's lips as he laid his eyes on me though it disappeared as fast as it came when he noticed Nikolai behind me. I watched his eyes fill with a wave of cold anger I hadn't seen in nearly a decade. It was an anger I had not missed.

"You brought the Sobachka." It was not a question. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Nikolai flinch at the name. It was a name he likely hadn't heard since before the war. "Do you really think an otkazat'sya can protect you from me?" he said, drawing closer.

"If you want to work together, I shouldn't need protection from you." I glared at him.

"So then you're a peninsula." A heavy silence descended over the hut.

"If you want to help make me the Sun Summoner once more, you're going to have the help of the king and that's final," I stated. I felt Nikolai shift uncomfortably behind me. 

"Be ready to leave tomorrow morning."

"You haven't even told us the plan," Nikolai said. The Darkling fixed a glare on the king.

"You'll find that out tomorrow morning." He turned back towards me, his face blank and his eyes cool. I could tell this was not going to be easy and that we wouldn't be able to argue with him very easily. As Nikolai and I began to shuffle out of the hut, he called out once more. "Alina." I turned back towards the Darkling. "I have no bad intentions." He stalked towards me, reaching out to place a slender finger under my chin, lifting my face towards him. "Don't make me your villain again. I'm asking you to trust me."

At that, I shivered. The last time he had asked me to trust him, I was young and naive. That was before Baghra told me the truth and I ran. I wasn't going to make the same mistake twice. "You've asked me the same thing before."

I watched as the corners of his mouth twitched up and his eyes searched mine.

"If you want to be the Sun Summoner again, you must trust me."

I found myself nodding involuntarily, but I wouldn't be able to trust him so willfully and blindly. It's better if he thinks I do though. That seemed to satisfy him, and Nikolai and I made our way out of the hut. Before crossing the door, I turned back one last time to find the Darkling staring at a picture in his hands, a single tear sliding down his cheeks. It was an odd sight to behold, but I knew better than to say anything and swiftly exited the hut, leaving the Darkling to mourn his mother in peace.


End file.
